Brown is the first Kings player to win the award, which applies the core values of hockey – commitment, perseverance and teamwork – to enrich the lives of people in his community. This year also marked the third consecutive year Brown has been nominated for the award.

Said Kings President, Business Operations Luc Robitaille: “This award is a great honor for Dustin, his wife Nicole, the Kings Care Foundation and the entire LA Kings organization. We are proud of the way Dustin and his family continue to represent our hockey club and our community.”

The Kings’ 26-year-old captain received this year’s NHL Foundation Award in recognition of his continued tireless involvement in countless community-benefiting endeavors. This season, Brown donated $50 for each of his 300 hits to contribute a total of $15,000 to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit. Two seasons ago, as part of the program he and his wife Nicole launched with KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, Brown’s per-hit donation plan raised $70,000 to build a new playground in Carson that now hosts more than 100 kids per day.

In mid-December, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Brown hosted an unforgettable day behind the scenes at STAPLES Center and then the following night at the Kings-Wild game for Will McCloud, a six-year-old boy who was battling leukemia. Brown also again served as the team spokesman for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, an organization dedicated to providing support for clinical research in pediatric cancer, while improving the medical environment for all children. And he volunteered to be the spokesman for the Club’s Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Night. In addition to adopting a local family over the holiday season as part of the Kings’ Adopt-a-Family program, Brown and his wife independently adopted a large family with a child currently being treated at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He led extensive team participation in the Kings Community Corner, a ticket-donation program that has enabled more than 15,000 Los Angeles youth and military members to experience Kings hockey live at STAPLES Center.

And through his budding engagement with social media, Brown has raised awareness for Make My Day Monday, which promotes committing random acts of kindness each Monday, and raised funds for Japanese earthquake relief, donating $1 for each of the 9,425 new followers he attracted on Twitter during a one-week period in March.

Named the 15th captain in Kings history on October 8, 2009, Brown is also the youngest captain in Kings history and the first American-born captain in Kings history. Brown was originally selected by the Kings in the first-round (13th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He has 305 points (141-164=305) in 513 career regular season games with the Kings.

Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green and Vancouver Canucks forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin were the other finalists for this year’s award. NHL Clubs submitted nominations for the NHL Foundation Player Award and the finalists were selected by a judging panel. The NHL Foundation presents $25,000 to the chosen charitable organization of this year’s recipient. Brown was officially nominated by the NHL on May 2.